Published Paper Details:

When one buys a product the first thing one checks is the price tag - is it within my budget? Very rarely do we bother to check other things like durability, expiry date etc. This is where consumer awareness begins. The expansion of service sector like insurance, banking, electricity, medical services in rural areas has added to the problem. Spurious drugs are causing major health hazards to the vulnerable sections who are mainly women, children and farmers. Hence, there is a need to study the awareness of consumer protection movement in rural Karnataka. The aim of this research paper is to investigate the awareness towards rights among rural consumer, redressing grievances process, responsibilities and consumer protection campaigns in rural area. The data were collected from 120 valid responses. The outcome shows that the respondents are more aware of checking the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) before buying a product and always purchase a commodity having the trademarks and logos authentication marks such as ISI, AGMARK, BIS. They believe in relief available to the victim through redressing grievances process. The study also reveals that Jago Grahak Jago has today become a household maxim by educating rural consumers on various issues related to consumer rights. Consumer awareness is not always about rights, but also about responsibilities and shouldering them honestly and sincerely. In this study, the sample respondents have higher level perceptions towards all the statements on responsibilities by assigning the mean value of more than 3. But, there is lower level perceptions were evidenced among the sample respondents towards their awareness on redressing grievances process which shows a long road ahead to ensure effective consumer justice.